If the keystone of the American Dream is owning a home, losing that home is the American Nightmare.

Whether they’re prey to storms, earthquakes, or the collapse of financial markets, such losses are devastating—not simply to those directly affected, but to those in adjacent towns and neighborhoods, or even right next door.

Then there are those who are without a home because of personal setbacks. Their needs are no less valid nor less pressing.

Rebuilding is restorative on many levels. Enter CBRE, winner in the exceedingly strong Best Corporate-Community Partnership category of PR Daily’s 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

The CBRE Shelter Program works in conjunction with two primary nonprofit organizations, Rebuilding Together and HomeAid, as described in one of CBRE’s internal memos:

“Rebuilding Together is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing home repair and renovation services, free of charge, to those in need. HomeAid is a leading national nonprofit provider of housing for the homeless, whose mission is to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives.”

The campaign won not only for the extraordinary benefits it provided to individuals, families, and communities nationwide, but for its efforts to engage staffers and outside volunteers alike in constructing and renovating homeless shelters, transitional housing, and private residences.

To promote its Build Month and Build Day initiatives, the real estate giant targeted memos to specific locales, as well as offering a toolkit on the company intranet. Photos of volunteers in various locations recognized their altruism while cultivating camaraderie across the teams’ ZIP codes and time zones.

The benefits of giving and accomplishment no doubt matched those of the finished projects that helped so many.

When community outreach transcends beneficiaries and benefactors alike, you’ve got a sure winner. So, hats off to the CBRE team, from carpenters to communicators, and painters to partners.